Thermoelectric power generation is a technique for converting thermal energy into electric energy with the use of the “Seeback effect.” The Seeback effect is a phenomenon in which a temperature difference given to opposing ends of a substance causes a thermal electromotive force in proportion to the temperature difference, whereby electric power (e.g., a current or a voltage signal) can be taken out by externally coupling a load to the substrate. Devices operating based on such a technique (thermoelectric power generation) have been seen in various applications such as, for example, wearable electronics, wireless sensor networks, system on chip circuits, etc.
In some cases, a thermocouple device, made of either conductor or semiconductor material, can be placed across a temperature difference to generate electric power based on the above-described technique. Generally, when the temperature difference is provided across respective ends of the thermocouple device, which are typically referred to as hot and cold ends, respectively, a voltage (or current) signal (i.e., the electric power) can be measured therebetween. Such a thermocouple device is typically categorized as one of various thermoelectric energy generation (TEG) devices. In accordance with increasing needs for a high-performance and CMOS-compatible thermocouple device (e.g., a miniature size, low heat leakage, a reliable durability, etc.), various, material- and/or structure-wise, types of thermocouple devices have been proposed to further improve performance of existing thermocouple devices. However, such known thermocouple devices have not been entirely satisfactory in order to provide desired performance while being able to be fabricated using CMOS-compatible technologies.